Beet Salad with Sweet Italian Sausage served over Fettuccine

Beets! What an amazing vegetable.  Beets are low in calories, high in fiber, have tons of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, and are yummy to boot.  They have a gorgeous bright burgundy color and you can use them in so many different ways. Beets are unique because they are a very hearty vegetable that can be used as a side dish or as a main dish! They can be served cold or hot, winter or summer.  I made it a salad with orange and mustard dressing and feta cheese to top it off.

I paired the beats with a extremely simple pasta dish. Sweet Italian sausage served over fettuccine with parmesan cheese. hmm. Seriously, can life get any better than pasta, sausage and cheese? I think not.

Here's how I did it:


Beet Salad:
2 whole beats - boil whole until tender (about 20-25 min). peel skin off with a pearing knife
1/4 cup of crumbled feta cheese
1 orange
1 Tbsp of coarse ground mustard
1/4 cup of white wine vinegar
3 Tbsp of olive oil
Salt and pepper
handful of fresh italian parsley - coarsely chopped.

1. Cut the beets into large bite size pieces. Place in a serving bowl and zest the peel from the orange over the beets. 
2. In a separate bowl combine the mustard, and vinegar. Take the orange and cut it in half and juice it into the bowl. Whisk in the olive oil. Add salt and pepper. 
3. Pour dressing over the beats and mix gently. Top off the salad with feta cheese and parsley. 

Sausage and Fettuccine:

1/2 pound of fettuccine

2-4 Sweet italian sausages

1/4 cup of graded parmesan cheese

2 Tbsp of olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook fettuccine according to package instructions. Drain.  Drizzle with 1 Tbsp of olive oil. Mix gently so the pasta does not stick together. Add cheese and mix gently. Be sure to add the cheese while the fettuccine is still hot. It will melt into the pasta. 
2. In a frying pan, cook the room temperature sausages. Put about 1/4 inch of water in the bottom of the frying pan and place the sausage in the pan over medium high heat. drizzle 1 Tbsp of the remaining olive oil over the sausage. Turn occasionally until the water evaporates and the sausage is cooked through with a nice golden color. 
3. Once Sausage is done cooking, Slice diagonally into thin strips and serve over the fettuccine. 
4. Add salt and coarse black pepper to taste. 

Enjoy!